Irish pop-rock band Picture This have told The Irish Mirror that they would consider writing a Eurovision entry for Ireland in the future, as the contest continues to become “cool again”. The group have scored two number one albums in Ireland since 2017, as well as charting in the UK.
The group’s members Jimmy Rainsford and Ryan Hennessy said that the contest was becoming more relevant again as the quality of songs continued to improve. They said that the group was open to writing an entry for Ireland, as they suggest Eurovision could be “huge” next year as the contest heads to Italy.
“It’s getting to a really good level”
Speaking to the newspaper in Ireland, Rainsford and Hennessy said that they enjoy the contest and would love to be involved in the coming years.
Yes, absolutely (we would consider writing a song). We actually love Eurovision… I’m all about Eurovision. I feel like it is becoming cool again and it is becoming current, it’s getting to a really good level.
– Ryan Hennessy and Jimmy Rainsford, speaking to The Irish Mirror
They did comment on how Eurovision was perceived as a ‘cheesy’ events by some – including participants – several years ago, but noting that the contest had moved on to become “huge” again.
People took the piss out of Eurovision, even the people who were entering Eurovision took the piss out of it for a long time.
– Jimmy Rainsford, speaking to The Irish Mirror
Jimmy Rainsford is no stranger to the contest, appearing on stage with Molly Sterling for her entry “Playing with Numbers” in the 2015 contest in Vienna. The year later, he was a member of the Irish jury, awarding his top marks to the United Kingdom’s Joe & Jake followed by Belgium’s Laura Tesoro and Bulgaria’s Poli Genova.
Could Irish be the key to success?
Commenting on the success of non-English songs at this year’s contest, Rainsford said that he doesn’t see an entry in Irish working for Ireland at the contest. However, he did say that it was “cool” to see four non-English entries in the top five.
On the other hand, Hennessy said that it would be “amazing” for Ireland to send an entry in Irish – something they haven’t done since 1972. At the same time, he did say that not many people around the world speak Irish, compared to Italian – the language of this year’s winning entry “Zitti e buoni”.
It would be amazing. I love the Irish language in general. I also understand that [with] Måneskin , there’s a lot of people that speak Italian… there’s not a lot of people around the world that speak Irish.
Ryan Hennessy, speaking to The Irish Mirror
What both the members did agree on was that moving forward, acts may need to be more than just a “mainstream international act” to succeed in Eurovision, naming Switzerland’s Gjon’s Tears as an example.
Who are Picture This?
Forming in 2015 in County Kildare, Picture This are an Irish pop-rock band who have scored two Irish number one albums – and are currently seeking their third with their newly-released album Life in Colour. Their first release was in 2015 with “Take My Hand” which reached number 21 in Ireland, after selling 10,000 copies.
Their most successful single in Ireland was “One Night” which reached number 4 in the singles chart. Alongside their chart success, the group have also performed tours across Ireland and in 2017, they headlined Ireland’s Longitude Festival.
Is Eurovision next on the cards for the Irish group? If so, they might have to find their way to the contest via a national final – Ireland’s first since 2015. After the contest in May, Ireland’s Head of Delegation Michael Kealy hinted at a possible return to a national final format after he admitted the country has scored “mixed results” while internally selecting their entries.
Would you like to see Picture This write a song for Ireland? Do you think the Irish language could be a way forward for the nation?
Let us know in the comments below and on social media @ESCXTRA.
